Sunday, April 22, 2012

Don and Megan's trip to hell (to HoJo's near Plattsburg, NY). Great details like the interior of the HoJo restaurant, the goofy hotel manager, the fried food for lunch And the fight that erupted between the two of them was a long time coming with Meganexpressing anger at the way Don pulls her away from her work (which also hurts the show). The season finally sprang to life.

Roger's LSD trip. This scene could have gone either way but it captured the spirit of the times. The note he received when he began his trip with his name, address and the words "Please Help Me" was priceless. The trip opened his mind to the fact that his marriage is dead. Maybe he should trip next week to get his head back in the game at work.

Peggy hopping the rails. Lots of interesting things going on with our favorite copywriter. She insults clients, leaves work early to catch a midday movie, smokes a joint in the theater, and gives a strange man in the next seat a handjob. Then she goes back to the office, bangs out some copy while drinking some Canadian Club and falls asleep on the office couch. Is she having a nervous breakdown? Not sure, but the show got damn interesting.

Bert Cooper. He snaps at Don, "You've been on love leave!" Don tells him to mind his business. Bert: "This is my business!" Pow! Take that Don.

Why Mad Men Episode 6 (Season 5) Didn't Work:

Maybe Peggy overreacted a bit too much during the Heinz presentation.

Roger's LSD trip may have been a bit too long.

Overall Grade for Mad Men Episode 6 (Season 5):

A-. Finally, we had some action tonight. Don and Megan's scenes were their best ever together, and it felt like we were spying on a real marital spat. We still need to see the cool, calculated Don Draper for the show to really soar, but there are hints that we'll see him soon. Most of the great Mad Men episodes take place in the office, so this episode was rare in that most of the compelling action took place away from the office.